Aug 21, 2015
Jacob’s Pillow Celebrates Director Ella Baff’s Final Season With Festival Finale http://dnce.co/1EajUzZ
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Jacob’s Pillow Celebrates Director Ella Baff’s Final Season With Festival Finale http://dnce.co/1EajUzZ
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2015 opens with its 83rd Season with Gala events on Saturday, June 20
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2015 opens with its 83rd Season with Gala events on Saturday, June 20
Daniil Simkin is a leaping wizard. Photo by Gene Schiavone.
In Becket, its about more than just dance at Jacob’s Pillow, it’s about celebration, too.
A cocktail reception will kick off the event, along with an exclusive preview of two new exhibitions: Blake’s Barn’s Best, highlighting landmark works by Annie Leibovitz, Jules Feiffer, Lois Greenfield, Al Hirschfeld, and others; and Kyle Froman:…
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Jacob's Pillow takes "Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host" and mixes talk radio with witty dance art
Jacob’s Pillow takes “Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host” and mixes talk radio with witty dance art
Talk radio, illustrated.
Dance to talk radio sounds like an impossible thing to pull off, but it’s not. This June, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival presents Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host, a special pre-Festival performance starring Ira Glass, the host and executive producer of the famed public radio program This American Life. “The Tina Fey of dance” (Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post)…
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Season Opening Gala to honor Liz Gerring with Jacob's Pillow Dance Award on June 20
Season Opening Gala to honor Liz Gerring with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award on June 20
Liz Gerring (top) and members of her Dance Company seen in Christopher Duggan’s Natural Light Studio at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
2015 JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE AWARD GOES TO ARTIST LIZ GERRING
This year’s Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, a prestigious honor carrying an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize, will be presented to contemporary choreographer Liz Gerring in recognition of her talent and…
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Emily Schoen KEIGWIN + COMPANY; photo Erin Baiano
Brandon Cournay and Kile Hotchkiss of KEIGWIN + COMPANY; photo Erin Baiano
Ashley Browne and Matt Baker of KEIGWIN + COMPANY; photo Matthew Murphy
KEIGWIN + COMPANY in “Contact Sport”; photo Matthew Murphy
JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE and MASS MoCA offer KEIGWIN + COMPANY April 11 and 12 as MASS MoCA
Cultural partners Jacob’s Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA present KEIGWIN + COMPANY, April 11 at 8pm and April 12 at 3pm at the Hunter Center. A favorite among dance audiences and critics, KEIGWIN + COMPANY will bring a mixed program of high art and pure entertainment, featuring a variety of diverse contemporary works that embody the company’s signature wit, broad musicality, and profound emotional capacity. Annual co-presentations by Jacob’s Pillow and MASS MoCA are made possible by the Irene Hunter Fund for Dance.
Ella Baff talks about Larry Keigwin and the partnership with Mass MoCA
The job of an Artistic Director is to curate performances many other activities, and through that, create an exciting environment for artists and the public. I search far and wide for talent to bring a great variety of dance styles and traditions from all over the world. I travel, read, listen, look, network, attend performances, rehearsals, meet with artists, managers and agents. I cast a wide net and shape a Festival out of it from possibilities. I spend hundreds of hours seeing performances, rehearsals and watching videos.” – Ella Baff
We had a lively email exchange with Ella Baff, and quotes from that correspondence are in the pull-out quotes we have scattered in this preview.
“The Pillow builds audiences for dance year-round, and one of the ways in which we do that is through our partnership with MASS MoCA,” says Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff. “Audiences will be wowed by KEIGWIN + COMPANY’s unstoppable energy and style. Making this engagement extra-special, Artistic Director Larry Keigwin will return to the stage to perform a world premiere solo. A KEIGWIN + COMPANY performance is always invigorating.”
Founded in 2003 by Artistic Director Larry Keigwin and Associate Director Nicole Wolcott, KEIGWIN + COMPANY is known for its provocative and witty commentary on society and relationships, illustrated by an electrifying brand of contemporary dance. Since its inception, the company has received generous acknowledgement and support from multiple presenting organizations, including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and The Joyce Theater as well as foundations such as the New York Foundation for the Arts and The Jerome Robbins Foundation. Andrew Boynton of The New Yorker praises KEIGWIN + COMPANY for giving audiences “dances that show humor and drama in equal measure” and offering a rare accessibility through “engaging and involving spectators.”
Four stories told in movement and music – all unique and different
KEIGWIN + COMPANY’s program at MASS MoCA promises to fulfill their reputation for engaging performances, and includes diverse works ranging in theme and emotional profundity. Six dancers will perform Waterfront, driven by selections from the dramatic film score of On the Waterfront, composed by Leonard Bernstein. Waterfront features the full company in fluid partnering, coupling, and unraveling in a multitude of sweeping wave-like patterns. Pedestrian movement mixes seamlessly with the dancers’ explosive virtuosity, while simultaneous and overlapping duets weave in and out of space to reveal brilliant moments of solo performance.
Utilizing highly athletic and vigorous movement, Boys features four male dancers in an exploration of the ever-evolving relationships between brothers. “The interpersonal dynamic is clear and engaging,” states The New York Times’s Brian Seibert, “the roughhousing is quick and light enough to suggest the rapid-fire dialogue of a 1930s film comedy.” The work is set to an iconic score of Eartha Kitt songs with classics such as “C’mon a My House” and “Easy to Love”, creating a playful repartee juxtaposed by moments of introspection.
The world premiere of Panic marks choreographer, founder, and Artistic Director Larry Keigwin’s first new solo in more than ten years; he will return to the stage after a three year hiatus from performing. Panic will investigate fear and anxiety imbued with Keigwin’s trademark theatricality. Composer Glen Fittin’s commissioned score includes Keigwin’s vocals, serving as an engine for an exploration of disquietude, punctuated by moments of calm.
The program will close with the electric Triptych, supported by stark lighting and the pulsating beat of composer Jonathan Pratt’s original score. Triptych is rooted in architectural themes and divided into three sections, exploring concepts of repetition, duration, and pattern. Outfitted in sleek and minimal black costumes, dancers perform precise, powerful movement imbued with technical prowess.
Of all the performing arts, dance – at least at the Pillow – seems to consistently draw the youngest audiences. We asked Ella Baff why she thought twenty- and thirty-somethings gravitate towards the movement arts, and might it be a gateway into classical music and traditional theatre for them? She answered: “Yes, we have a very cool audience at the Pillow. Dance is inventive, often innovative and plainly gorgeous, physically. Most dancers are young, beautiful and brimming with physical intelligence. That connects with people of all ages, but generationally, with young people.” And as to the coming Summer at Jacob’s Pillow? Baff wouldn’t pick a favorite but she promised that “There will be astonishing dancing and a lot of new work. I am eager to share it all with our audiences.”
Supporting the Festival depends on fundraising, which we do every single day. Jacob’s Pillow cannot exist, cannot bring all of these artists and support our professional School, our Archives, education programs, free public events, and our community programs – unless there is enthusiastic support from people who become Members and donors. During the Festival, we serve hundreds of meals a day to artists, interns, scholars, fellows, staff and faculty. Everyone works very hard, and the dancers burn calories like hummingbirds. Unfortunately, we do not have enough housing on site for all the dancers. Back to the generosity of donors, we really must increase support to build more artist housing so that all the Festival artists can stay on site.” – Ella Baff
About Larry Keigwin
Larry Keigwin started his performing career as a backup dancer on Club MTV’s Downtown Julie Brown, and has since gone on to worked with work with the pop band Fischerspooner, comedian Murray Hill, and as an associate choreographer for both The Radio City Rockettes and the Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party. Recognized in Dance Magazine’s annual “25 to Watch” list in 2004, Larry Keigwin has been described as “a parcel of pure explosive energy mediated by impressive technical skills” (Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times). In 2010, Keigwin was named Vail International Dance Festival’s first artist in residence.
Keigwin also created his own Keigwin Kabaret, a fusion of modern dance, vaudeville, and burlesque presented by the Public Theater at Joe’s Pub and by Symphony Space, and in 2010 staged Fashion’s Night Out: The Show, which featured over 150 of the industry’s top models andVogue Magazine’s fall fashions. Known for combining pedestrian movement and themes with advanced techniques, Keigwin’s works explore the humorous and creative side of contemporary trends while remaining accessible and thought-provoking. Commissions include choreography for the Works & Process performing arts series at the Guggenheim Museum, The Juilliard School, New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, and the Martha Graham Dance Company, among many others.
Keigwin’s recent theatrical projects include choreography for the current Broadway production of If/Then starring Tony Award winner Idina Menzel; Tales of the City, starring Betty Buckley, at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco (2011); and the Off-Broadway production of Jonathan Larson’s RENT (2011).
The company has performed several times at Jacob’s Pillow and is utterly appealing. Great dancers, the choreography has lots of energy and movement, all cleverly put together. And we have something very special on this program: Larry is returning to the stage after a ten-year absence from performing. It’s a new solo called, “Panic”. It will be another first at MASS MoCA.” – Ella Baff
About Keigwin + Company
KEIGWIN + COMPANY reaches national and international audiences and invigorates diverse communities with a refreshing vision of dance that embodies a theatrical sensibility of wit, style, and heart. The company’s community projects and education programs seek to engage audiences and dancers in movement and choreographic processes, allowing opportunities for individuals to become more invested in dance.
Since their debut performance at The Joyce Theater’s Joyce Soho, KEIGWIN + COMPANY has created 29 dances, including the acclaimed large-scale community project, Bolero, which has been commissioned in 11 communities across the country. Genre-crossing and boundary-breaking, Runaway (2008), the fashion-inspired choreographic ride, was proclaimed “a thrilling coup de theatre” by James Wolcott of Vanity Fair. KEIGWIN + COMPANY has presented performances throughout the globe and at various prestigious venues in the United States including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, New York City Center, The Joyce Theater, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (2003, 2008, and 2011).
The Hunter family is an anchoring, catalytic force in the Berkshires. Irene Hunter was a Board member of Jacob’s Pillow for many years, Jim Hunter serves on the Board of MASS MoCA, and Joan Hunter is Chair Emeritus of the Board of Jacob’ Pillow and continues to serve on our Board. There are deep connections between our organizations and generations of Hunter family members. The Hunters are true philanthropists, which is to say that they are part of the community, and make great things happen to the benefit of everyone who lives here and well beyond.” – Ella Baff
The Irene Hunter Fund for Dance
Through the financial support of the Irene Hunter Fund for Dance, Jacob’s Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA continue to co-present performing arts programming, a partnership established before the museum was opened in 1999. The Pillow played a pivotal role in establishing MASS MoCA’s role as a performing arts presenter and sponsored events at the museum site as early as 1995. In the spirit of deep collaboration, this partnership creates opportunities for visual and performing artists by encouraging cross-disciplinary experimentation; cultivates new dance audiences in the Berkshires by presenting innovative, high-quality performances; and expands the public’s understanding of the creative process. Past co-presentations include Abraham.In.Motion, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, STREB, MOMIX, DanceBrazil, Stephen Petronio Company, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Armitage Gone! Dance, Cuba’s Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Chunky Move, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Shen Wei Dance Arts, and most recently Kyle Abraham/Abraham.in.Motion.
Performance and Ticket Information
Saturday, April 11 at 8pm and Sunday, April 12 at 3pm; Hunter Center at MASS MoCA.
Ticket prices: Advance: $18 student, $20 mezzanine, $26 orchestra, $32 preferred. Day of: $18 student, $26 mezzanine, $32 orchestra, $38 preferred
To order tickets: 413.662.2111 or www.massmoca.org MASS MoCA is located at 87 Marshall Street, North Adams, MA 01247.
For additional information on Jacob’s Pillow, visit www.jacobspillow.org
DANCE: Larry Keigwin’s wit, musicality and raw emotions are visceral on stage JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE and MASS MoCA offer KEIGWIN + COMPANY April 11 and 12 as MASS MoCA…
A Festival of Mark Morris within the Jacob's Pillow Festival July 23-27
A Festival of Mark Morris within the Jacob’s Pillow Festival July 23-27
Laurel Lynch & Willam Smith lll of Mark Morris Dance Group; photo Stephanie Berger.
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP RETURNS TO JACOB’S PILLOW
FOR A CELEBRATORY “FESTIVAL WITHIN A FESTIVAL”
Choreographer Mark Morris is celebrated for his deep, witty, poetic, brazen, joyful dances and an abiding commitment to live music. This July, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival celebrates Mr. Morris and his dance group…
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Decadance theatre offers 'Unreal Hip-Hop' at Jacob's Pillow
Decadance theatre offers ‘Unreal Hip-Hop’ at Jacob’s Pillow
Ephrat Asherie; photo Cristiano Marcelli.
GET READY FOR DECADANCETHEATRE,
EPHRAT “BOUNCE” ASHERIE, AND THE WONDERTWINS
Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff brings together some of today’s most innovative hip-hop dancemakers for a new, Pillow-exclusive production. Unreal Hip-Hop features the diverse styles of Brooklyn-based crew Decadancetheatre, b-girl Ephrat “Bounce”…
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I think there is no contest among art forms, they are all important. They all are essential from my view. But I wouldn't argue with you when you use the words "dance" and "sublime" in the same sentence. It is a very, very extraordinary art form.
Ella Baff, Executive and Artistic Director of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival